Socialists to standardise French residency rules

French President François Hollande's Socialist government is making good on an election promise to sort out the rules on immigration. Until now, France's regions all had different criteria for people applying for residency, but Interior Minister Manuel Valls has promised to harmonise the rules nationwide. Support groups for asylum seekers are glad the issue is being dealt with, but they claim the new regulations are too strict - even more so than under Nicolas Sarkozy.